Based on the reviews thus far, this campaign has to be one of the most exciting for the participating parent bloggers. Judging from the enthusiasm they’ve shown from the very beginning when we queried the network for interest in this campaign, all the way through this first set of reviews, this HP Photosmart A626 photo printer and the accompanying Photo Books have been a tremendous hit.
The reviews had three major components: 1) Printer functionality; 2) Printer-based photo editing; and 3) the Photo Books and their associated photo editing software. The reviewers included bloggers with a wide range of knowledge - from those who are experts in photo editing and printing, to those who had yet to jump on the at-home photo editing and printing bandwagon.
Printer functionality
The HP Photosmart A626 has to be one of the most intuitive gadgets out there. As one blogger put it:
Even the diehard directions-readers dispensed with the formalities and dived right in: “I am usually good about reading the directions before using a new product, but this printer is so easy to navigate, I did not bother using the manual to print directly from my memory card.” Another mother and son did the same, since this printer was “ready-to-go, right out of the box. My three-year-old and I opened the box, plugged it in, and immediately started playing with it. Oh, sure, we should have read the directions, but we really didn’t need to. We admired the sleek black box and began immediately to open it up like a Transformer.”
And most of them got started printing right away, using their camera’s memory card: “I didn’t need no stinkin’ USB cord, just the memory card from my camera! I plugged in the printer and turned it on. That was it. That was all I needed to do. I put in my card and Bam! My images were right there ready to be edited.” Another blogger agreed: “After you insert your memory card (from your digital camera) into the printer, the simple and easy to understand touchscreen completely guides you along the way.” A third added: “You can print pictures with the Photosmart by hooking it up to your PC if you want, but if that’s something you’d like to do, a USB cable needs to be purchased separately, or, if you already have an HP printer/fax for your home PC, the USB cable you already have should work with the Photosmart.”
The printer “comes with an introductory set of paper and ink cartridge“, but no USB cable. HP did send an additional print cartridge and a USB cable to all of the bloggers in order to facilitate their reviews and prevent them from having to purchase additional supplies themselves. One blogger did make this suggestion to HP: “Because I would want to get started printing photos right away, I’d be happy to pay $25 extra up front for an accessory package, or even better, it should just be included with the initial purchase so consumers would have everything they need in hand.” Another blogger, when swapping out her printer cartridge, was delighted to find that “HP included an envelope, postage paid, for me to send in my empty cartridge for recycling…Good for you, HP. We really don’t want to throw these ink cartridges into the landfill.”
But there are more options than just the memory card and USB cable. One enterprising blogger noted: “The printer is also PictBridge compatible, or for those truly on the cutting edge, has an optional Bluetooth capability via an adapter sold separately. For the ultimate in portability, check out the optional rechargeable battery and go truly wireless!” This versatility makes the Photosmart a viable option for all levels of photo printing expertise. Another blogger even commented: “It’s like your own personal Walgreen’s kiosk. Stick your memory card in the front, photo paper in the back, and use the touch screen to select what you want to print.”
The touch screen was a major plus: “My favorite feature is the touch screen. Yes, really and truly it’s a touch screen printer.” Another blogger agreed: “The coolest thing about the printer is the color flip-top LCD touch screen…Through the touch screen, you can print and manipulate and even get creative with your photos without ever having to turn on your computer because the printer can interface with any kind of memory card or external hard drive.” That’s another option if you don’t have a compatible USB cable - transfer photos to a flash drive and plug it right in.
Finally, before we get to the photo editing capabilities of the printer, it’s important to comment on its portability and aesthetics. The bloggers were truly amazed by these characteristics of the Photosmart:
- “At 3.4 pounds and less than ten inches wide, this printer does not take up much space on your desk.“
- “What I love is the size and shape…It has a little handle, so it’s really easy to take out when you want to use it, and not have it out all the time.“
- “…my husband commented that it was cute. It really is. It’s small, compact and somehow, dare I say it, almost pretty looking.“
Printer-based photo editing
It’s hard to believe that such a compact piece of equipment could contain such extensive photo editing capability, but the Photosmart does. One blogger summarized it particularly well:
Since the reviewers ranged from those who are dedicated Photoshop and Quark users to those who rely on the editing software that came with their cameras (and then only to do little more than crop photos and remove red-eye), there was a range of feedback on the photo editing features. One blogger was really impressed by the red-eye removal function: “I found the red-eye removal function on this product to be much more accurate than my Kodak program on the computer.” But another found it to be inconsistent: “…unfortunately the anti-red eye function did not always work.”
The stylus was definitely a source of fun: “I used the stylus to put my handwriting on some photos, something I really can’t do with my usual photo editor - the tried and true Adobe Photoshop. I really thought that was the neatest thing about the editing capabilities of the printer…” Another blogger added: “My second favorite [feature] is the stylus that can be stored differently depending on whether the printer is traveling or sitting on your desk.”
But as much as the bloggers marveled at the printer-based photo editing capabilities, they’ve got another urgent suggestion for HP: “The one problem I noticed with editing directly on the printer, is that there is no way to save your changes to a disk or your computer. Or if there is, I can’t seem to figure out how to do it.” Another blogger echoed this lament: “The only thing missing is the ability to save your photos after editing them on the printer. Instead, I had to print the photo out then scan them into my home computer for future use.”
Finally, as one blogger put it: “The true test of this printer for me was the photo quality…the HP Photo Printer did not disappoint me. The print quality of the photos is excellent. I printed out several photos of mine that I love, with lots of color, just to test it out.” Another blogger, also well-versed in photo editing, commented: “For those who are more picky about their photos in terms of lighting and color, I’d guess that you would, like me, first upload your photos to the computer, mess with them, and then print them out. Either way, I’m totally satisfied with the print outs I’ve made with my carefully cropped and color-corrected photos.”
However, for one blogger who didn’t edit her photos on her computer before printing them: “For whatever reason, we really had to bump the brightness settings up, almost as high as they would go, or the pictures would come out darker than they show on the screen. Once we accounted for the 2-notch bump, we were really impressed with the quality of the prints.”
Photo Books and software
Not surprisingly, the Photo Books were also a big hit, both with veteran scrapbookers and novices alike: “I must admit, I loved the photo book idea before I even tried out the printer. The pages of the photo book are actually HP photo paper, so you can print a photo or a scrapbook page out on your printer and pop it into the photo book. Voila. Instant scrapbook. I already create digital scrapbook pages and have printed out many as gifts, but in the past I had to mount each printed page in a scrapbook. I’m looking forward to making my gift giving a little easier in the future with the HP photo books.”
Another mother was thrilled with the books because they make mother-daughter scrapbooking easy and mess-free: “All of a sudden, photo-scrapbooking is an activity I can do with my second-grader…Instant project for a rainy day or easy and unique birthday or holiday present!” In fact, giving the photo books as gifts - particularly to grandparents - was a common suggestion among the bloggers: “The Photo Books (a/k/a Christmas gifts for the Grandmas) are soooo easy to create…Once I had the book formatted (with captions!) exactly the way I wanted it, all I had to do was: PRINT. It was truly that painless.”
The software that accompanies the Photo Books “automatically lays out the pages and it’s fairly easy to use for people who don’t have a design background or own Quark or other complicated design software. I put together an awesome 12 page book with captions and 30 photos in an hour.” But unfortunately, a couple bloggers ran into glitches with it. One commented: “The software does not let me customize the book. Certain pages must have a set number of photo slots, so you can’t convert a 2-photo page to a 3-photo page, nor can you move the pages around within the album…You cannot format the text. There is a space for a caption and you can’t change its position, font size or style.” And another lamented: “The HP software saves everything thing in a format unique to the HP software and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to convert the files. While that might be part of HP’s plan to get people to use their printer or online services, I don’t like it. I want my unique creations and edits in a universal format and I don’t want to be limited in how I can use them.”
It seems that the software is geared more toward those on the novice end of the spectrum, particularly users without a design background. But since the software is not essential to creating the Photo Books, users with design experience or other design software can edit in their favored software instead. However, please note that the software is NOT Mac-compatible.
Software aside, the Photo Books themselves are fantastically easy to use: “…no sleeves to insert the photos into. Just bend back the covers and place the pictures directly in. This makes it very easy to change the photos around or add more.” This flexibility made the Photo Books a winner.
Summary
Not only did the bloggers enjoy the Photosmart printer and the Photo Books themselves, they were extremely enthusiastic about the potential for these products as gifts. The printer retails for less than $150 and is obviously simple enough to operate that even photo-printing novices would love it. And the Photo Books - whether presented as finished scrapbooks or as an accessory to the printer - are a sure hit too.
Finally, one blogger suggested that the HP Photosmart A626 printer and HP Photo Books would make a great family holiday activity - “better than a game of Twister.” She’ll pack her printer and “we can sit around printing out our favorite photos from the year and make a scrapbook together.”
Now there’s a holiday activity everyone can truly appreciate.
More detailed blogger reviews of the HP Photosmart A626 photo printer and HP Photo Books to come!
Mon 12/10 - Ruth Dynamite
Tues 12/11 - Ebony Mommy and Lipstick to Crayons
Wed 12/12 - Lather Rinse Repeat
Thurs 12/13 - Karianna
Fri 12/14 - Views from the Pants
Mon 12/17 - Jumping Monkeys and One Plus Two
Tues 12/18 - Mrs Dub Reviews
Wed 12/19 - Marketing Mommy
Thurs 12/20 - Round-Up Review on PBN
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[...] in the second half of this campaign have been just as thrilled with the products as the bloggers in the first half. As before, their photo editing and printing skills and experience range from novice to expert, so [...]